Archivissima 2026

The theme of ‘absence’ – of projects that were never realised or have since vanished – runs through all the professional archives held by the University. Entries in competitions or unrealised project proposals, for example in the fields of architecture or product design, as well as “ephemeral” constructions for museum exhibitions or buildings that were built and then dismantled, tell of archival remnants that today have no counterpart in the real landscape. 

To represent the vast diversity of experiences and media present in its archives, the Politecnico di Milano will present a selection of examples of absences, spanning the various archives of its collection, through two interconnected events: one in Milan and the other in Genoa, the latter being the home of the Renzo Piano Archive, recently donated to the University. 

In Genoa, the “Evolutive Housing” project by Renzo Piano will be presented and discussed with Carlo Nozza (Università della Svizzera Italiana), interviewed by Lia Piano. The project was originally submitted for the reconstruction of Friuli after the 1976 earthquake, but it was never built and later took unexpected directions.

In Milan, visitors will be able to view a pop-up exhibition, organised for Archivissima, dedicated to projects relating to product design, as well as exhibition design and architecture in the cultural sphere, as revealed by some of the University’s historical archives, including those of Raffaella Crespi, Gabriele Mucchi and Elio Frisia. The event will begin at 6.30 pm.Visitors may view the exhibition at their leisure or with a guided tour led by the curators of the Politecnico di Milano Historical Archives.

The events will take place at:

Milan
Historical Archives
Politecnico di Milano – Building B1
Via Candiani 72, Milan

Exhibition with guided tour
Time: 6:30 pm
For organizational reasons, registration is required at the following link:

Register to the event in Milan

Genoa
Renzo Piano Project
Via Pier Paolo Rubens 30a, Genoa

Talk and guided tour of the exhibition spaces
Time: 5:30 pm
For organizational reasons, registration is required at the following link:

Register to the event in Genoa

Photo Credits: Project for the Evolutionary House - prototype, ph. Shunji Ishida, Renzo Piano Archive (left) - Set-up project for a furniture exhibition, 1938-1940, Gabriele Mucchi Collection (right)